An Unexpected Love Story
by princessxoamber
Summary: Bella Swan was in love with Carlisle Cullen. What bad could come from that? There's a wicked step-mom, an accident and an unexpected love story just waiting for Edward and Bella to get their act together. (Some Carlisle/Bella, eventually Bella/Edward) Reviews mean a lemon-y outtake!


**A/N: This story is written in three parts, three different pov's. It's not typical and I like to think it's something different. Check out the note at the bottom. ;) **

An Unexpected Love Story

**Part I**

There once was a boy, no a man, I thought I gave my whole heart to. I was seventeen, he was older, married and I had thought, completely devoted to me. Little did I know that I would be shunned in public, labeled a homewrecker and my heart would be broken into more pieces than I ever thought plausible.

In my little town of Forks, Washington, everyone knew me, well knew my dad, the police chief. So I never, ever, dated in town. So when I met Dr. Carlisle Cullen in Port Angeles, I thought I'd struck gold. I wasn't looking for a sugar daddy or anything but I'd been told many times that I was wise beyond my years and I knew that boys my own age bored me to tears. I wanted someone intellectual, seasoned and experienced.

We met in the bookstore. I was perusing the young adult fiction section for this new series my best friend, Angela, was boasting about. I figured I could grab the first and see if she was right in the assessment that I would just "die" when I read it. I was walking toward the checkout when my gracefulness, or lack there of, made itself known and I tripped on the edge of a shelf, bringing all the erotica section on my head. Dr. Cullen, as he introduced himself, had been looking for a book for his wife when he saw me fall and wanted to check to see if I had a concussion.

I was lost in his blue eyes that I didn't even care when he said he had a wife. At that moment, I knew I wanted him and I'd do anything I could to get him.

He offered to take me to coffee, to observe my head injury for a little while, and make sure I was able to drive, and we talked for what turned into hours. We talked about everything, anything and all that in between.

Three cappuccinos later, his wife called. He lied to her and said he'd been called into the hospital. I bit my lip, blushed and sipped on my drink. He lied. To his wife. To stay with me.

We ended up making out in the back of his Mercedes that day.

For weeks we texted and emailed. He was always telling me I made him feel young and I'd reply that he made me feel alive.

When I was finally able to see him again, it was because I made an appointment at his doctor's office. For birth control. I'd told Charlie I needed it for some girly reason, not because I was engaging in premarital sex. I'd never seen his face so red before. I informed him that I wanted to do it out of town to avoid town gossip and he gave me a thumbs up and excused himself to watch a baseball game.

So, I sat in Dr. Cullen's office, filling out paperwork and waited to be called to the back. When it was finally my turn, the nurse took me back, taking my weight and blood pressure, which was a little high, maybe because I was so nervous.

When he finally came in through the door, he took my chart from the slot, looked it over and his green eyes looked me over and he gulped.

"What are you doing here?" He practically hissed before closing the door.

I shrugged and replied innocently, "I came to get birth control, see there's this guy I really like and when the time comes, I don't want there to be _anything _stopping us."

He swallowed tightly and nodded then cleared his throat, "Well Miss Swan, it's very good that you're being proactive. This um _boy _you're seeing, has it been going on very long?"

"I never said he was a _boy, _Dr. Cullen." I reached out, wanting to touch him but he stepped back out of my reach. "He's all man."

"I..look Bella, I really like you but I have a wife. We're married. You understand that right?" He tried to reason with me and it sounded condescending.

I shot down off of the table, grabbed my things and stopped right before opening the door and whispered, "You'll be chasing me, begging me to be in your bed, before the month's over."

I made sure to pay for my visit before I left. Honestly, I'd been on birth control for years, I just wanted to see him. Charlie didn't know and it really didn't hurt anything. I just had to have Dr. Cullen chase me now.

For the first week, he didn't text or call me and I didn't reach out to him either. By the second week, I started to worry but on the tenth day I had three messages, all apologies from the prestigious Dr. Cullen.

I couldn't even feel guilty because Carlisle never said he _loved _his wife. Only said he had one, whenever I'd try to step things up to the next level. We played cat and mouse for weeks after he'd finally contacted me. I sent him suggestive pictures, asked for a check up, anything to get him to _want _me like that.

The weekend after my eighteenth birthday, I received a flower arrangement with a card within a card. They were my favorite. Purple orchids, which were very hard to find in Washington state, sat in a glass vase on the dining room table, I'd assumed Charlie got them for me but when I opened the card, I gasped.

_**For my beautiful flower on her very special birthday. **_

_**Meet me tonight. **_

_**Pack a bag. **_

_**CC **_

I swooned right then and there. I found the card for a hotel room inside the card and did a happy dance in the kitchen.

Lying to Charlie was easier than I thought. I told him I met a girl named Carli in Port Angeles and we'd been hanging out. He was grateful that I was making friends and acting my age. Little did he know what I was actually doing.

I packed a bag and then went about showering and beautifying myself for the night. It was _the _night. We were finally going to move forward on the physical scale of our relationship.

Making my way to the hotel, I was nervous and almost backed out three different times but this was what I had wanted, needed and craved. I wanted him since the moment I met him. I couldn't say no when he was risking everything to be with me.

Once inside the hotel, I found the room number and made my way inside. It wasn't just a room, it was a suite. Carlisle was nowhere to be found but there were love notes spread all across the room, with more flowers. He was working but would be with me by dinner time and had set up for me to get a massage in the spa downstairs and told me to take a bubble bath. Oh, and there were instructions to be on the bed, naked, at exactly 5:04. It was such a random time but so perfectly Carlisle.

I was turned on all day, thinking about what Carlisle was going to do to me and what he'd allow me to do to him in return. My massage was heavenly and I retreated back upstairs to take a bath around four o'clock and didn't climb out until quarter to five.

When five o'clock came around, I was nibbling on my lip and stripped out of the robe I'd put on after my bath and laid against the satiny sheets that covered the bed. I closed my eyes in anticipation and waited.

I heard the click of the door and my breath caught in my throat. Then I heard his velvety voice, "Oh sweet girl, what do you have for me here?"

It was like a game. I'd teased him for months and now that he had me, here, in front of him, willing, wet and ready, he was going to tease me back.

I didn't answer him but I heard the removal of his clothes and again my breathing became erratic. My thighs rubbed together and that caught his eyes.

"Is my sweet girl ready for me? Do you want me Bella?" He whispered huskily.

His hands moved over my bare legs and I hissed out a "yes" in return. I wanted, needed more and he was all too willing to give it to me.

We spent hours making love in the bed, the shower and even once when we'd started fighting we ended up against the door to the room.

When the light of day was finally making itself known, I whispered, wrapped in his arms, "This was the best birthday ever."

"I'm so glad sweet girl." He replied with a kiss to my nose.

"You have to go soon." It wasn't a question.

"I do. Victoria will not believe I have been at work this whole time." I nodded sullenly.

Victoria was Carlisle's wife, his second wife. His first wife, and the mother of his three children, had died from breast cancer when Alice, the youngest, was only three, she was now twenty one. He met Victoria fifteen years ago and the rest was history. He was lonely, his children needed a mother and so he married her. It was sad and again, he never said he loved her. He spoke of his love of Esme, his first wife, and often of his children, I felt like I knew them already, as often as he spoke of them.

Carlisle untangled himself from me, even when I clung to him, and told me had to leave. "You stay, rest, relax. I'll try and come back tonight but no promises."

Fifteen minutes later, he was gone. There was a small box on the bathroom sink when I went to freshen up. Slowly, I opened it and found a tennis bracelet with little sapphires and diamonds.

I spent the next two days locked in the hotel room, refusing to leave on the off chance that Carlisle may be able to get away for even a little while. But he never showed.

A week passed and then two and my heart was slowly breaking. I hadn't heard a word from Carlisle since that night. Then, three weeks and two days after our encounter, he sent me a casual text.

_Hi _

_**Hi back **_

_I'm sorry I haven't called. Things have been….hectic. _

I knew there was more to it than hectic but who could explain what happened in three weeks in text messages. When I didn't respond he kept texting.

_I need to see you. Tonight. _

I had agreed but didn't show up that night. He tried again for days but I kept blowing him off. I was miserable, crying myself to sleep, I wasn't eating. It was horrible.

Finally, three months after my birthday, Charlie forced me out of the house. He handed me twenty dollars and told me to go get lost in the book store. I laughed, for the first time in what felt like forever and took my dad's advice.

I was there for an hour and a half before I felt familiar hands on my waist. His mouth was at my ear and he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

I choked back a sob and tried to push him off of me, shaking my head but he tried again. "I need to talk to you. _Please?_"

He was practically begging and I couldn't stand it anymore. I nodded and put the book I was reading down, grabbed his hand and slung my bag over my shoulder, letting him lead me out of the bookstore.

Once we were locked in his car, I waited. I wanted him to explain things to me but I wanted to explain as well. Technically, I'd blown him off.

"Look, I want you to know, that night we spent together was….magically. I've never experienced anything like that before," he went to continue but I interrupted.

"But?" He stared at me and I gave a wave of the hand.

"No but's Bella, I want that, with you, all the time. I miss you. Even just our text messages or when I hear a funny joke, I think to myself, Bella would really like that but I can't even call you or text you or see you. Bella, I want to le-" I placed a finger to his lips and shook my head.

"Don't say that. Don't." He was implying leaving Victoria and I didn't want to be a part of that. Sure, I knew he was married and pursued him but I didn't want to be the reason he left her. If he left her because he didn't love her, it would be different but this was all because of me.

"Bella, I never loved Victoria. Esme was my first love but I think you're my soul mate." He reached out and ran his hand over my cheek. I was crying and shaking my head back and forth. It wasn't possible, afterall all of his children were older than me, hell he was as old as my father and he was married.

"Please give me another chance, Bella. Please?" I nodded and leaned to kiss him. I couldn't help it.

Since it was Christmas break, I called Charlie and told him that my friend "Carli" and I had made up from our fight and I was going to spend a few days with her. This lead to Carlisle and I spending almost a week locked together in a hotel room. I'd never felt more loved than I did that week. It was all perfect, until it wasn't.

Carlisle's phone started going off like crazy on the fifth day. Emmett, Edward and Alice were all calling him. Apparently Victoria had been in an "accident" when trying to get the Christmas decorations out. When she'd been taken to the hospital, she found out that Carlisle hadn't been there working non-stop like he told her. Apparently, he needed to get to her as soon as possible.

He left me, again, but an hour later there was a light tapping at the door. On the other side was Carlisle's youngest child, his only daughter, who was still three years older than me. I let her come inside and tried not to wince when she was looking me over.

"So you're the young thing Daddy's been spending his time with." She dropped her purse on the table and tapped her high heeled covered feet. Her head tilted and I just blinked in her direction.

"I like you but...something doesn't seem right. Daddy loves you but hmm, I don't know." She was mumbling to herself and I remember that Carlisle had once told me about Alice's 'predictions' and her ability to know things before they happened.

"Anyway," she continued, "Daddy wanted me to tell you that Bitchtoria won't let him leave her side. She doesn't even have a concussion. Daddy said he'll call you later in the week and that he's sorry. He really wanted to spend Christmas with you."

Alice's tiny nose wrinkles like she smells something bad but before I can say anything she tells me to get dressed. Apparently she and I are going shopping.

We spend the afternoon spending obscene amounts of Carlisle's money where Alice gives me all the information on the need to knows about their family. No one likes Victoria but they deal with her. Alice was easily becoming my new friend. She didn't judge me and she didn't tell me to stop seeing her dad.

On New Year's Eve, I got a text, wishing me a happy new year but that was all. Again, Carlisle was ignoring me.

This time I didn't get depressed. Alice kept in touch though. Apparently, Carlisle and Victoria had been fighting nonstop since her release from the hospital. Edward and Emmett had left early to go back to their lives just to escape the fighting. Alice said she wanted to see how things panned out.

On the third of January, I went back to school but I also received a message from Carlisle asking me to meet him. I agreed

During school, something was going on. Everyone was whispering as I passed by and when I'd come into a classroom it would get eerily quiet.

I had missed calls from Charlie by the time school got out but I didn't care. I had to get to Carlisle.

I drove as fast as I could to get to the hotel and once there, I ran down the hall to what we'd dubbed our room. When I put the key in the slot and opened the door, I was greeted but not by Carlisle, no, in our room, our happy place, sat Victoria Cullen. Her red curly hair hanging low on her shoulders, her long perfect legs crossed as she sat on the bed.

I gulped and tried to excuse myself, saying I had the wrong room but someone came in behind me and pushed me into the room.

"That will be all James, thank you." Victoria purred in his direction. I wanted to gag when the gross looking man winked at her.

"So, you're the one who's stolen my husband?" She raised an eyebrow in my direction.

"I love him." I whispered quietly.

"Well that's just too damn bad." She practically growled. "Now how much will it cost for you to go away."

Luckily for me, I'd emailed Carlisle during gym today, to show him what was under my gym clothes and told him I couldn't wait see him tonight. So he knew I'd be here, even if he hadn't set up this meeting. He'd save me from Victoria. I knew it.

"I love him." I repeated and then my knight in shining armor came through the door.

"Bella….baby, I'm sorry." He turned to look at Victoria and stepped between us. "Get out of here Victoria. I told you this was over. I told you to leave her alone. It's bad enough you told her father!"

My father? That must have been what the messages were about. And the whispers.

"It wasn't even all that hard to find her. The small town all knows what she's done. What a homewrecking little slut she is!" Victoria cried out, thrashing against Carlisle trying to get to me. I backed up to the door.

This wasn't happening. It couldn't. Everyone knew? My father? The whole town?

I must have zoned out because before I know Carlisle is explaining that he's taking Victoria home and that he'd be right back. I must have nodded because he left and I stood in the same spot for almost forty-five minutes.

When I finally snapped out of it, I checked my phone and had over a dozen messages, from my dad, my friends, general people at school. I sat there, listening to every single message telling me what a horrible person I was, how I was a slut, homewrecker, gold digger and everything in between. Charlie was worried and was threatening to put an APB out for me if I didn't call soon.

I must have fall asleep because I heard a knocking at the door and realized that time had passed. It was late, almost two in the morning when I found Alice at my door in tears.

"Bella, my….Daddy...Victoria...accident.." she started balling and fell into her boyfriend Jasper's arms. He continued for me.

"Why don't you sit down, Bella?" He offered and I complied, waiting and trying to decipher what Alice was talking about. "Bella, there's no easy way to say this but Carlisle and Victoria were in an accident on the way home and...neither one of them survived."

I blinked fifty-two times and gasped for breath, clutching my chest, sobbing and denying that it was possible. Alice and Jasper held me together, soothing me. It was awful. It couldn't be true. We were finally figuring things out. I needed more time with him. He hadn't even kissed me goodbye.

When I met Emmett, it was because he offered to drive me home to my father. I didn't want to go but he felt the need to explain a few things to my father and apparently me as well, with my father. Emmett didn't judge but you could tell he didn't approve either. Carlisle had told me he was a lawyer in New York but when he was a child, he was never serious about anything, always joking and laughing. Now he just seemed morose. I guess when you become an orphan, no matter what age, it's hard.

Emmett met Charlie and explained that Car-his father and I had been in a relationship and that he had filed for separation with Victoria before we got serious. I didn't know that. He was also trying to move for a divorce, sooner rather than later. Emmett explained that when Victoria found out about his change in his Will, she lost her mind. Carlisle had included me, a college fund and enough money to live comfortably for a few years, invest or save. Hell, I could buy a house! It was crazy and I couldn't understand why he'd done it.

Emmett also explained to Charlie that the accident was Victoria's fault. Carlisle was driving but when he refused to stop seeing me, she grabbed the wheel and pulled them toward a semi-truck. There were many witnesses that had seen the exchange and had told police the very same thing.

Time moved slowly after that. I didn't go back to school, deciding to do some online high school Charlie had suggested. I didn't leave the house because someone was always talking badly about me.

I went to Carlisle's funeral but felt like an outsider. Besides Alice and Emmett, I didn't know any of the people in attendance and what was I? Carlisle's piece on the side, the one that got him killed. It was all too overwhelming for me.

Alice tried to introduce me to Edward but he didn't want to speak to me. Apparently at twenty-five he was a super genius. He graduated high school at fifteen, college at eighteen and then went through medical school faster than normal as well. He was already a full fledged doctor, practicing, just like his father.

Throughout the funeral, everyone spoke about the wonderful man Carlisle Cullen was, how he saved people, donated to charity and loved his family more than anything. I burst into tears every time I heard his name. Alice kept me with her and held my hand. I felt so bad, this was her father and I was selfishly needing all the comfort.

I watched as they lowered the casket into the ground and wanted to crawl in there with him. I felt like a part of me had died as well.

Things never got any better for me in Forks. There were so many rumors swirling. Some even suggested that I killed Carlisle and Victoria to get the Cullen money. It was ridiculous. I finally told Charlie that I couldn't do it anymore. I had to leave.

With the money Carlisle had left me and moved to Chicago. I thought it was because they had a wonderful school I wanted to attend but then I remembered my many talks with Carlisle when he said that's where he'd met Esme and they'd fallen in love.

I was out to lunch with Alice when I broke the news to her but she looked excited. "Bella! Edward lives in Chicago! You guys will have to hang out!"

I agreed but knew it would never happen. Carlisle's middle child wanted nothing to do with me and I wasn't going to push.

The week before I was set to leave, I'd caught a case of the flu, or so I'd thought. All I knew was, Chicago was going to change everything and I needed a change.

**Part II **

My father had been dead for five years. Victoria had killed him after finding out about his mistress, Isabella. My mother had been dead for many years and now, my siblings and I were orphans. Orphans. It was a crazy feeling. Having no parents at all. I kept in contact with my siblings and we even had what Alice called a three-way and what Emmett called a conference call, where we were all on the same line, every Sunday for at least an hour.

I knew Isabella had moved to Chicago but it was a big city and luckily for me, I hadn't run into her. I didn't want to see the girl who was only eighteen when she seduced my father. It sickened me that he'd be with someone, that way, who was younger than Alice. It was disturbing and when I went to the funeral, I'd seen her. She was breathtakingly beautiful and according to Alice and Emmett, she wasn't like girls her age. She was smart and mature. I thought, for half a minute, that I wouldn't kick her out of my bed if she were there but clammed up and refused to speak to her the whole time I was in town.

I tried to forget about Isabella and whatever had happened with my father. I needed to move on just like the rest of my family did. I turned thirty this year. It was an off feeling. I worked, worked some more and when I wasn't at work getting paid, I was volunteering at local clinic's. Unless I was working I was sleeping.

I haven't touched my piano in years. It sits there mocking me. I hear my mother's voice telling me that the only way to get better is to practice. She always said that. But I'm never able to actually sit down and play anything.

One evening I was working the emergency room at the hospital. It was late, really late, or early in any case. I looked at the clock and then down at the chart I'd picked up from the nurse's station. Carli Swan, age four. I couldn't figure out why the name sounded so familiar. Fever, throwing up, sluggish, her symptoms read. Probably the flu.

I opened the door and gave my normal greeting, "I'm Dr. Cullen and I'll be taking care of you this evening."

Before I finished I heard a gasp. When I looked up, I was looking into the eyes of the woman who had claimed my father's heart years ago. She'd looked so frail and broken at the funeral but now she was _all _woman. Her hips were wider, her hair longer, her cheeks fuller. She was beautiful.

"Isabella…." I started but what do you say to the woman your father was sleeping with but then he died.

"Edward, I had no idea you worked here. I…" She looked at the little girl laying on the makeshift bed.

"I think she has the flu, that's what's going around. We'll get her a prescription and get you on your way." I tried to sound professional but my voice cracked.

Who was this girl? She couldn't be...no, it wasn't possible. Was it? I looked her over. Blonde curly hair. Her eyes were hidden but Isabella seemed to know what I was doing.

"They're the exact same shade as his. Sometimes when she wakes me up and it's the first thing I see, I think he's here, with me." Her words are whispered and my heart clenches in my chest.

"Her name is Carli...but she's a Swan?" I gulped back the sob in my throat threatening to break through.

This was my sister. My _baby _sister. Oh my God. Dad's daughter. My dead father's daughter and he had no idea.

"I didn't think it was appropriate, Edward. Alice and Emmett respected my decision." She stroked Carli's hair.

So they knew? My traitor siblings knew and they never told me? Had they seen her? Did they know about her? What she liked and disliked? This was my blood. My family. I felt slighted or shorted somehow but silently I felt selfish for thinking that way when Dad wasn't here at all to meet her.

I nodded, handing Isabella the girl's prescription. "Maybe we can have dinner?" I realize it sounded like a date and I noticed how her eyes bugged out. "I mean with Carli, I liked to meet my sister, properly."

Isabella shook her head and collected her daughter, my sister, in her arms. "She doesn't know Alice and Emmett are her brother and sister. That's just too complicated to explain how someone older than Mommy is her sibling. It's hard enough when she asks where her Daddy is. I just...can't Edward, I'm sorry. She calls them Aunt Alice and Uncle Emmett."

She looked guilty and tired. I shot a text to Emmett and Alice. It was simple.

**We need to talk. I just met Carli Swan.**

I went about the rest of my shift with Isabella and Carli on my mind. I even sweet talked one of the nurses into giving me the address to where they were living. I had to. I needed to see them again.

By the time I went home and crashed. I slept for ten hours and it was late afternoon. Isabella's address was burning a hole in my pocket. I wanted to go there now.

I had a few calls from Alice and decided to call her back before getting to Emmett's messages. As soon as she answered, she got Emmett on the line as well.

"Edward, you have to understand…" Alice had started.

"Yeah Ed, look, you didn't take the Bella thing very well so we weren't sure how you'd take Carli and that girl has it hard enough without you taking shit out on her." Emmett sounded more grown up the older he got. It still surprised me.

Alice tried again before I could speak. "Bella called me when she was seven and a half months pregnant. She had to be put on bed rest, something was wrong with her and Carli was in danger of being premature. I came and stayed with her. Remember when I was in town?"

I nodded even though she couldn't see me. "And Bella felt so guilty. She had no one else to call. She felt so bad. She was guilt ridden and all she wanted was Daddy. That girl's heart is just too big. We helped her set up Carli's room and everything. She's so wonderful, Edward and so smart."

Emmett added on, "Ed, she's...she reminds me of you. All the best parts of Dad with Bella's clumsiness and her blush. It's the funniest thing to see."

"I stole her address from her file at the hospital." I admitted. "I saw them last night. Carli has the flu and I was the doctor in ER last night. I want to go over there but….will you guys just tell me what to do?" I begged my siblings.

"Edward, give her some time. She's been worried about how you would react forever. Give her some time. She's already called me and Emmett freaking out. Bella thought you'd hate her." Alice's voice was soft and then I heard Jasper calling for her.

She hung up and so did Emmett and I ended up doing some laundry. Alice text me later in the evening. It was a time and a place to pick up Chinese food, with a specific order.

That was all the invitation I needed. I grabbed the food and made my way to the address that I'd memorized hours before.

Knocking on the door, I held my breath. Isabella opened the door, but only partly. "Edward, we're so glad you're here. Carli knows all about you, she knows you're Alice and Emmett's brother but...try not to talk about your dad, please? And don't…don't look at her like I know you're going to want to, okay?"

I didn't know what that meant but I nodded my agreement and she opened the door the rest of the way. I handed over the bag of food and she pointed to the couch. Apparently Carli still wasn't feeling well. I sat down next to her and when she turned to smile at me, I gasped. The eyes. They were exactly the same. Her smile. Even her little button nose. They were all my dad. She was the spitting image of him, only in the female form. I looked at Isabella in the kitchen, for help. I just needed a minute.

She introduced me and Carli held her hand out to me. I smiled so wide my cheeks hurt. "Hey there Carli. You're looking much better than last night."

She nodded and thanked me for being the best doctor ever. I laughed.

We spent that night together but it wasn't the last time. I went over to Isabella and Carli's house twice a week and I even took her to the park on Wednesday mornings. We formed a routine and I liked it. Alice and Emmett came to town and we had a family dinner. The only thing missing was Dad.

One night, four months after meeting Carli, I told Isabella, "I think Dad would have loved being here for Carli. Alice was always his favorite."

She laughed, "He admitted that to me once. He said something about little girls and their dad's. It was so sweet. I wish he was here for her."

"Isabella, you've done wonderfully and I...I want to say I'm sorry if I made you ever think what happened was your fault."

"Edward...how many times do I have to ask you to call me Bella?" She laughed and wiped at some tears forming in her eyes.

More months passed and the routine continued. I found out that Bella was finishing school to become an elementary school teacher and it would be just in time for Carli to be starting school. It was perfect. She had two more classes to finish in the spring and then graduation.

I told Bella all about my accelerated programs through school. She admitted to taking time off after Carli was born but she'd spent so much time catching up.

We didn't talk about Dad often but we spoke about Victoria. I told her how Victoria had come on to me after I'd gone through puberty, apparently, she'd done the same to Emmett and he turned her down. I never told anyone before but Bella told me that Emmett had confided in her as well.

Bella was run from her town, from her father and lost nearly all of her friends after the accident. Victoria had spread all through the small town of Forks about the affair with my father. We'd all later found out that James, the man Victoria brought with her to interrogate Bella, had been getting a piece of Victoria's pie. She was stepping out on dad, too.

Bella's relationship with her father was still strained, apparently it got worse when she got to Chicago and found out she was pregnant but once the Chief met Carli Marie Swan, he was in love, or so Bella says. I felt terrible about how I treated her and constantly apologized for my behavior. Bella had been grieving the same way we had, maybe worse. She loved him, truly. It wasn't fake like Victoria. It was real.

I found myself often jealous of the things Bella would tell me about her time with Dad. They had a whirlwind relationship, but if Victoria hadn't ruined everything, I think they would have been married and living blissfully now.

When it came time for Bella's graduation for school, Alice and Emmett came as well as the Chief. Alice threw a party and Bella had blushed the whole time, trying to stick to my side.

Bella started her new job when the school year started in September. Carli started Kindergarten while Bella taught third grade. We established a new routine and ended up adding Alice, Jasper, Emmett and his wife Rosalie to the mix when they all moved to Chicago before Christmas. They said it had been long overdue and they were tired of being away from family.

Things had been perfect for way too long. I should have known something would come up but I wasn't prepared for this. One afternoon, I picked Carli up from school to take her out on one of our days together. I'd been working so much and had missed the last two weeks. I decided to take Carli for ice cream and to the park.

We were sitting on the swings, eating our cones when one of the mom's on the playground came up to Carli and asked if she could talk to her daddy, but was nodding to me. Carli dropped her ice cream and ran off. I tried to follow but the woman had blocked me.

"She's just gone to play. I've seen you here before. Your daughter is beautiful." Her hand traveled over my chest as she spoke.

"Look, I have to find her." I pushed passed, not bothering to correct the woman. People assumed all the time that I was Carli's dad, they assumed Bella and I were together but neither was true. We were family. That's all that mattered.

For a frantic ten minutes, I cased the playground. I finally grabbed a police officer, told him what happened and he advised me to call Bella.

She showed up ten minutes later, disheveled and crying. There was still no sign of Carli and when she noticed I didn't have, she slapped me right across the face.

"How could you? She's all I have left! Don't you understand!" She screamed at me, breaking down and falling to the ground.

The park had been shut down, police everywhere. There was a fear of her being abducted but I knew Carli. She could hide where no one would find her until she wanted to be found.

It was a horrible three hours later, when the sun was going down, that Carli had been found. Bella had needed to be sedated because she was so distraught so I took Carli, holding her close.

"Don't ever run off from me again, Carli Marie." I'd chidded to her sleeping form. They wanted to take her to the hospital to make sure everything was okay. She ended up being dehydrated and then Bella and Carli were both cleared to go home.

I took them both home, getting every glance I could at Carli. I feared Bella wouldn't ever let me see her again. I couldn't handle that. I just couldn't.

I carried Carli up to Bella's apartment. She seemed a little more level headed but I still feared her taking Carli away.

She instructed me to put her to bed and then meet her in the living room. I lingered in Carli's room, tucking her into bed and petting her hair. I placed the teddy bear we'd won at a carnival in her arms, kissed her forehead and hoped it wasn't for the last time.

I met Bella in the living room and saw her sitting with her head in her hands. "Edward, I'm so sorry. I never should have hit you." She was crying again but who could blame her?

"Bella, I…" I didn't know what to say to make this better, so I sat next to her and pulled her into my lap as if she was the child. I held her and let her cry. After what seemed like forever, she finally sat up, wiped her face and cleared her throat.

"I need to know what happened to make Carli run off like that. She never does that." It was true. Carli was such a good girl and she never wandered off or talked back. .

It felt like forever since it had happened but then I remembered. "There was a woman at the park. I think she was trying to hit on me." Bella's nose wrinkled as I spoke. "And she called me Carli's daddy and...then she just ran off."

Bella gasped and covered her mouth but never removed herself from my lap which seemed to just feel right. "It's understandable Edward. You and...and…" she struggled with saying his name often. "and your father have similar physical qualities, you just have your mother's coloring. So it makes sense for people to confuse you with Carli's father"

There. She'd said it. And I couldn't help the little stab in my heart when I realized it wasn't true and it never would be.

With wishful thinking, I cupped Bella's cheek and she leaned in, just as I leaned up and we kissed. It was sweet at first and then grew hungry with need. Our lips pressed together and our tongues wrestled for dominance. It was only when I slipped my hand under Bella's shirt did she gasp and jump off of my lap. She ran toward her room and quietly closed the door without another word.

For two weeks Bella avoided me. Whenever I'd come to pick Carli up, Alice would be there instead. She'd say Bella had to run an errand or was working late or something of the sort when I knew she was just hiding in her bedroom. Whenever I'd bring Carli home, either Rose or Emmett or both would be in the living room to greet her. Again, I'd get the same spiel. It was getting tiresome.

I finally broke down and talked to Alice. My sister was always perceptive and I'm sure Bella had spoken to her but I needed her on my side. She was my family.

"Alice, I..I think I love her." I admitted over lunch.

"I knew, I just knew, years ago." Alice shook her head and stabbed at her salad. I tried to understand because I hadn't met Bella years ago. Well, except at the funeral. "I told her something didn't seem right when she was with Daddy. Now, I'll never doubt their love for each other, Edward. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying in the grand scheme, I think...I think she was meant to be part of this family, no matter what."

She gave me one of her looks and I knew what she meant. She thought Bella was meant to be with me, not Dad. Apparently the universe didn't get Alice Cullen-Whitlock's memo because she'd been with my _father _and had a daughter with him.

"Alice, what do I do? This whole thing is fucked up. I'm in love with my dead father's mistress. The mother of my SISTER!" I hissed out quietly. This was ridiculous. "Say Bella and I get married and have some babies of our own. Then what? Carli's my sister AND my step daughter? Our children would be her...what, siblings and niece or nephew? It's a bad Jerry Springer episode Ali."

My sister let me stew and when I'd finally gotten it all out, I let out a breath. I felt better. She continued to eat and I just shook my head.

"Maybe I just need to give her some time. I really like her Ali and...if...if she hadn't been..who she was to Dad, I'd be knocking on her door and begging her to love me like I love her." Alice beamed a smile at me.

"First of all, don't worry about the semantics of things. Carli has no idea who Dad is and I don't think Bella has any plans to explain about him until she's much older. It's not an easy conversation and I know we'll all," she gave me a pointed glance, "be there to help. Carli is confused as you are. She hears people call you her dad everywhere and you do fatherly things for her. Admit it." I had to nod. "So she's in the same position. Bella, Bella is…" she paused and scrunched her nose in a very Bella way, "I think she thinks she's betraying Daddy by wanting you so badly. And trust me Edward. She wants you. Bad."

Alice giggled and continued on with her lunch but I got a page from the hospital and had to leave early. An accident had caused the ER to be full and I spent the night lost in patients instead of worrying about what to do with Bella.

It was only when I was near falling over that I finally stopped taking patients. I would do no good to them if I was half asleep. When I made it back to the locker room to change, I found Bella sitting by the door with a bag of what smelled like food.

"What are you doing here?" I asked curiously.

"I...I needed to see you." She smiled weakly and scrambled to her feet.

"Bella, look, I had a really hard night and if you're just going to…" She cut me off and kissed me. Full on the mouth, in the middle of the hospital. I wrapped my arms around her and held her close for fear of Bella being a figment of my exhausted imagination.

"Go get your things and let's go. I've got a little girl who's looking for you and when she goes to bed…." She trailed off with a smirk and I ran into the locker room to do just as she'd said.

It was the beginning of everything and it didn't matter how we'd gotten this way, all that matter was that we were together.

**Part III **

"So you mean, when you were my age, you...with Daddy's dad, but he's my dad? I don't...I don't understand Mommy." No matter how old I got, I always called my parents Mommy and Daddy. They'd been there for me, always supporting every decision I made, always making sure to make my life better.

"Carli, honey, I…" Mommy looked at Daddy and he gave her a small smile and pulled out a picture and handed it to me. In it was Daddy, Uncle Emmett, Aunt Alice and another man. A man that looked like me. "That man you see, he's the man I fell in love with when I was your age. He was much older than me but he died in an accident. He didn't even know I was pregnant with you."

"And he's Daddy's dad?" I gulped back trying to understand. "So Daddy's not my daddy? He's my brother?" The room was full of tears. I was crying, Mommy was crying and Daddy was really trying not to.

"Carlisle is your biological father, yes but Daddy is always going to be your Daddy, Carli." Carlisle. His name was even like mine. I cried even harder. Daddy left Mommy's side and he hugged me.

"I didn't know about you. I didn't know you existed until you came to the hospital with the flu. Do you remember that?" Daddy asked, curling a blonde lock of my hair around his finger and I shook my head. "You told me I was the best doctor ever." He chuckled and kissed my forehead. "That's when I found out I had a little sister. I started spending time with you and Mommy and the rest is history. Mommy fought me for a long time because she didn't want to betray my Dad."

"Carlisle. Carli. Our names are almost the same." I whispered. Mommy nodded and told Daddy and I the story she told Grandpa Charlie about her friend she was spending time with when she was actually meeting Carlisle. I liked how my name came to be.

Daddy hugged me tighter and Mommy joined in. Then we heard a cry that came from my little brother, Caleb, and Daddy let Mommy and I go. "I'll get him. You girls talk some more."

"Mommy, why were you with him? He was married. What if someone did that with Daddy?" I gulped back some more tears and leaned into her.

"Oh Carli, I don't know. I'd probably go a little crazy. I love Daddy so much. Probably more than I ever loved Carlisle." She pulled out of my hug and looked at my face, wiping my cheeks. "Do you know, Aunt Alice says she knew I was meant to be a Cullen. She thinks I was with Carlisle because he was a way to get me to Daddy. Daddy was very, well let's just say Daddy needed us and we needed him just as much."

Daddy came back in my room with Caleb on his hip. "Now you see why we wanted to meet Tyler before you went out with him? Do you understand that we weren't being mean or trying to embarrass you? Mommy just wanted you to know, no matter what or who you choose, we'll be there for you."

It was true. Daddy and I had gotten into a giant fight about my boyfriend. I mean I'm sixteen years old. Of course I'm going to have a boyfriend. I'm pretty and smart. So when Tyler told me he got his driver's license and asked if I wanted to go out, I said yes. He was popular and on the basketball team.

I told Daddy and he'd had a fit. That's when Mommy decided to talk to me about everything. About the truth. It was all so surreal. Everything I thought I knew, I didn't.

I ended up canceling with Tyler for the night. He was a jerk and said he'd take Taylor Newton out with him instead. Everyone knew she was easy and let boys touch her boobs. I told Daddy and he was very happy I'd declined spending time with a jerk like that.

Mommy and I cooked dinner together while Daddy went to get my sister Cassie from her dance class. She was seven and loved to dance. Mommy, Daddy, Cassie, Caleb and I sat down to eat and we spoke about our day.

Things may have changed since I found out about Carlisle but no matter what happened before or what was going to happen in the future, this was my family and there was no way I'd ever change any of that.

**A/N: Now I know this isn't some of you guys' glass of tea but it was something stuck in my head that needed to get out. I was going crazy. I also wanted something out of my comfort zone, something different and I...well I think it worked out. If you didn't then I'm sorry. If you follow my on Twitter (PrincessxoAmber) then you can see what I'm working on or what I'm using as a current muse. Hell, send me an idea and maybe I'll write it. I love ideas. **

**I hope you leave a review. I'm thinking if there's tons of feedback, for an outtake of Edward and Bella's first night together. I didn't think it fit into the story properly but could stand alone as an outtake. So hit that review button if you want! **

**I usually stick to Jasper and Bella or a wolf and Bella but felt that this needed to be done differently.**


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